“Trifecta,” said my friend Becky on the phone, although she lives in Colorado; if there’s a racetrack around here, it’s news to me.

“Trifecta what?” I asked her.

“I just got home from a job interview where they asked me not one, not two, but all three of the idiotic job interview questions you’re always railing about.”

“All three?” I asked her. “That’s amazing. Were these people otherwise reasonable, or was the place a petri dish full of amoebas?”
“Amoebae, I think,” said Becky. “I think ‘amoebae’ is the plural for ‘amoeba.'”

“Either way, what were these people like?” I pressed her. “Toads,” she said. “I almost didn’t go to the interview at all, because the recruiter who set up the appointment said ‘Don’t be late’ to me before she hung up. I knew then and there that I didn’t want to work with these people, but like you always say, it’s good to go on the interview and get more practice.”

“And grow your mojo,” I added. “Oh, brother!” said Becky. “This was the world’s most slam-dunk mojo-growth interview, let me tell you. As horrible as it was to talk with the toad people, it is nice to remember that I have something valuable to offer, too. It was nice to walk out of there thinking ‘If I live to be a million years old, I’ll never work for people like that.'”

Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 HR executive and the CEO of Human Workplace, an online community and consulting firm focused on reinventing work and career education. She is working with the Denver Post to bring the best expert advice on work place issues and tips to improve your career. Note: Liz Ryan was selected for her expertise, but her opinions are solely her own. We are not endorsing or advocating her business.